PARIS WITH SCENIC TOURS - PARIS IS GREAT - THE SCENIC TOURS RATING IS BAD

We find the accommodation provided by Scenic Tours in Paris to be appalling

The Westin Paris is one of the Starwood group of hotels and my wife Dianne and I had acquired Starwood Preferred Guest status before our departure for Paris. The Westin is represented to be a five star hotel overlooking the Tuileries Gardens in central Paris. It appeared to be very elegant from the outside and the staff appeared friendly and helpful. However, our Starwood membership did not impress the reception lady who coolly responded by telling us that our room would be located next to the lifts. Knowing what this location meant in terms of intrusive noise, I did not offer to kiss her hand in gratitude. We were stunned when ushered into our hotel room. It was much worse than any 3-star hotel or motel room that we had ever stayed in. Let me quote from my review of the Westin furnished to TripAdvisor, the free international travel guide and research website that assists customers in gathering travel information by posting opinions of travel and accommodation:

My wife and I found the accommodation (at the Westin in Paris) and location overrated. We booked a five night stay in a standard room at the Westin for Aus$750 (US$650) a night. By Western world standards, the bedroom was small, dark, dingy, and in dire need of refurbishing. An old tube TV did not justify the room cost. Paint was peeling off the bathroom ceiling. Paris temperature when we arrived from Australia was 37C but my wife found our Westin hotel room so depressing that she could not bear to remain in it. Our room was located beside the lifts and we were awakened repeatedly during the night by loud voices outside our door and children shouting as the lifts arrived at our floor. Thankfully, we were not located on the Rue de Rivoli and Tuileries Gardens side of the hotel. Traffic on the Rue de Rivoli is heavy and very noisy. An equally noisy carnival was located in the Tuileries Gardens about 40 metres from the southern or "view" side of the hotel. By way of contrast, the Westin Paris and restaurant staff were friendly and helpful. We judged the Westin Paris not by luxurious Fairmont Hotels Canada or Hawaiian standards but by comparison with the Hilton City Hotel Munich Germany which at one third the price offered a much larger, brighter, cleaner, and more comfortable room on our trip to Europe.

See the TripAdvisor reviews.

The Westin Front of House Manager, Conor Cushnahan, responded to my review by thanking me for my review and then made the ridiculous comment: "I am disappointed that our new hotel boudoir style of decoration did not please you." He obviously failed to appreciate that our room had not been renovated.

A photograph may provide some indication of how small, dark and dingy our Westin room was:

ACCOMMODATION PROVIDED BY SCENIC TOURS IN PARIS AT AUS$ 750 A NIGHT

This room in the Westin Paris provided by Scenic Tours at Aus$750 a night was so dark and dreadful that my
wife and I could not relax in it and hastened to get out of it every day. I feel generous in rating it:

Other members of our Scenic Tour group had been placed in refurbished so-called "boudoir-style" rooms overlooking the hotel's attractive central couryard, and had no complaints about their Westin accommodation. We were placed in a room that could be fairly described as a "rat-hole", and Scenic Tours deserves trenchant criticism for treating their loyal Gold status members in this way. By way of contrast, I have included a photograph of the room in the Hilton Munich (below) booked by us through Hotel.com at Aus$ 250 a night from 7 to 10 September 2009 - or one third of the price charged by Scenic Tours at the Westin:

Our Hilton Munich room was bright, clean, and spacious. After our bad experience with Scenic Tours in Paris, we booked the Hilton Munich room through booking agents Hotel.com. Our Hilton room looked out on a large courtyard planted with lush shrubs and trees. Staff service could not be faulted. At only Aus$250 a night, with breakfast included, I am awarding Hilton Munich this top rating:

Both rooms were photographed in natural light without flash. Scenic Tours needs to explain why their Gold status members were charged Aus$750 a night for a small, dark, and dingy room at the Westin Paris when the Hilton Munich charged us only Aus$250 a night for a large, bright, and pleasant room with breakfast included. Perhaps Scenic Tours would argue that, as the booking travel agent, they were entitled to exact a very substantial commission from clients whom they placed at the Westin.

Travellers should think twice before allowing Scenic Tours to book hotel accommodation for them

Scenic Tours offers to combine three nights in London, Paris or Prague with their river cruises between Amsterdam and Budapest. Alternatively, clients can simply purchase the river cruise between Amsterdam and Budapest. If prospective clients of Scenic Tours want to combine a stay in London, Paris or Prague with a river cruise between Amsterdam and Budapest, the comparative prices above suggest that clients could be financially better off checking out hotels at TripAdvisor and then organising their hotel stays with one of the better travel booking companies such as Expedia.com, Hotels.com, HotelClub.com,or Booking.com. We did that when we added four nights at the Hilton Munich at the end of our river cruise between Amsterdam and Budapest, and it cost us a total of only Aus$1,000 with all hot breakfasts included in that price.

Prices for everything in Paris are very expensive - especially food

Food prices in Paris are very high by Australian standards. A hot breakfast was included in our room rate at both the Westin Paris and the Hilton Munich, and we quickly learned to eat a hearty breakfast and then survive on light snacks for lunch and dinner. After one strenuous walk to the Ile de Cite to see the famous Cathedral of Notre Dame and La Sainte-Chapelle, and with the ambient temperature at 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees F), Dianne and I returned to the Westin in dire need of cool refreshment. The central courtyard was inviting with water splashing in the central fountain. Dianne ordered a glass of soft drink and a small pastry tart. I ordered a large glass of beer. The total cost was 28 Euros or (at that time) Aus$56. My glass of beer cost Aus$16. Dianne's small pastry tart cost Aus$24.

Sightseeing in Paris

My wife and I had four clear days in Paris. Although we had already paid for it, we were not interested in the tour of Paris by bus offered by Scenic Tours because we knew from experience that we could see and enjoy more of Paris on foot and by resorting to taxis when necessary. Acting on our own initiative, we were able to explore and thoroughly enjoy the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, the Ile de la Cite, Notre Dame, La Sainte-Chapelle, the Jardin des Tuileries, the Musee de Cluny, and Place Vendome with its luxury boutique shops. We ran out of time to see the Eiffel Tower but saw it courtesy of Scenic Tours on our last night in Paris. Obviously, we do not blame Paris for the dreadful accommodation provided to us at exorbitant cost by Scenic Tours. Paris is magnificent and we wish that we had had more time to explore and experience this wonderful city.

My rating for Paris as a tourist destination is:

My rating of the Scenic Tours contribution to our time in Paris is:

Some warnings to those who want to visit Paris are necessary. Avoid visiting Paris in August. This lovely city can become very hot in August and many residents of Paris take their summer holidays in that month. As a result, the city's major tourist attractions, including the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Notre Dame, Jardin des Tuileries, and Eiffel Tower, are very crowded with locals and tourists. If we make a return visit to Paris, and Dianne would love to, it is likely to be in the Spring and definitely not Summer. The walking areas of parks in Paris, such as the famous Jardin des Tuileries, are surfaced with dirt and not the concrete or gravel that we find in most Australian parks. In Summer, the dirt surfaces of parks in Paris become thick dust that will adhere to shoes, stockings, and trouser legs, and sadly, the lenses of cameras will need to be protected. Finally, watch out for the ubiquitous beggars of Paris. They know every trick to detain you for money.

Paris to Amsterdam

On August 24, we journeyed by bus from Paris to Amsterdam where we would board the Scenic Ruby. Our journey was broken at Brussels where we were left for two hours to find our own lunch in the beautiful centre of the city and enable the ladies to look for Brussel's famous laces.

NEXT

or

RETURN to Scenic River cruising